Travel reviews by Mr P from Sheffield

"A very luxurious camp with excellent levels of service and food
Very isolated and quiet location with no nearby camps or vehicles.
Amazing landscape.
Lake trip was excellent.

I did not like being seated seperately from my family for the communal dinners. Guests were expected to sit next to other guests and not members of their own party. On the first evening I sat next to a 12 year boy and an old lady, neither of whom I had met previously - my wife and daughters were guided to seats at the opposite end of the long communal table. This issue was resolved after speaking to the camp manager.

We saw the same family of three lions twice in four days of safari - otherwise no big cat sightings. No rhino and only very small family groups of elephant. Overall therefore, slightly disappointed with game sightings, although the hippo pool was very entertaining."

"Rooms and general hotel facilities excellent. Landscaped grounds a delight. Restaurant staff very attentive and friendly. Nice personal touches such as returning to our room after a long, dusty day to find our bath drawn and covered in fragrant petals and the wine on ice.
Hotal manager very nice - made an effort to speak to us every evening.

Highly recommend a trip to the Empakai crater - need a full day but amazing views and sense of exploration. Also great to drive through masaii area totally unspoilt, unchanged and not commercialised.

Access to the hotel from the main road was a real pain - 30 minutes drive along a very dusty and ungraded dirt track with huge potholes. This became tedious over our three day stay.
Swimming pool too cold to use - shame as very pretty

Food reasonable but a little disappointing - quality and presentation lacked the flair expected from the hotel description.
Location good for Lake Manwara but a long drive to the Ngorongoro crater (this was made clear to us before departure)."

"An amazing resort hotel. Very pretty and colourful gardens. Villas very well designed and furnished. Food and facilities world class. Very nice to see male and female staff who were all very well-trained, helpful and polite. Lovely beach setting.

Two minor criticisms - the second bedroom in the two bedroom villas was small and whilst suitable for two young children, was too small to be used as a triple. Secondly, I presume the grounds were irrigated with recycled water as there was a very unpleasant odour every evening around the hotel."

"Arriving at the Royal Livingstone was like like stepping back in time to a bygone era. The location on the bank of the Zambezi and within sight (and earshot) of the Falls was perfect.

Rooms although well furnished and prepared were small considering the reputation, grade and cost.

The choice and quality of the food available in the main restaurant was excellent with a choice of whether to eat on the verandah or inside. The wine list was comprehensive but extortionately priced even for 'local' South African' wines. I would have been happy to pay a premium for French champagne but not $80 for a bottle of South African Pinotage which I bought myself for $10 last year!

Assistance for planning activities was very efficient and helpful although we weren't brave enough to do any of the extreme experiences available. Our highlights included the 30 min helicopter ride and the rhino walking safari which we would definitely recommend."

"The location of the Kapani camp was very picturesque, although I woul dimagine that when the oxbow lagoon dries up late in the season this may not be the case.

Food and drink surpassed our expections and previous safari experiences.

Our lagoon suite was very spacious and comfortable although one had to be brave to visit the outside toilet at night. The standard rooms were also very well equipped although a little more 'rustic'

A visit from a family of elephants through the camp on our first afternoon was very exciting, particularly for my two daughters.
Our guide, Lawrence was absolutely lovely and very knowledgeable - he had an answer for every one of our (numerous) questions and by the end of the safari felt almost like part of our family.

The game was numerous and very 'natural' - much less commercial than South Africa. Lots of leopard, lions, hippo and the other usual big mammals but also some spectacular birds. My wife adored the giraffe and we all fell in love with the numerous babies.

The swimming pool was also a welcome addition for the afternoon laze - clean and warm for a dip in between catching up on one's sleep."

"Mchenje was even more luxurious than Kapani and the location on the riverbank was perfect. The lack of mains electricity was not a problem despite our initial trepidation and again the food and drink was gourmet standard.

We saw more hippo every day than you would think possible and on the second night whils drinking pre-dinner cocktails we were captivated by the deep and resonous sound of a lion roaring on the opposite bank - I'm sure the sound carried for miles.
Once again, the game drives were brilliant - Lawrence and his spotter were clearly top of the class compared to some of the guides from other camps - where he went others followed!

Our bush breakfast was a complete surprise and an absolute treat as was our special sundowner locations and candlelit settings - very romantic."

"We rally didn't know what to expect from Pumulani but this was quite possibly the highlight of our holiday. It felt like every child in the village of Monkey Bay was there on the airstrip to greet us on our arrival which made us feel very welcome.

The location of the lodge on the hill overlooking the Lake was inspiring and our suites were enormous with every mod con imaginable. The views and sunsets from our personal and very private decks were stunning and very photogenic.

Our hosts Mark and Jenna were delightful and really made us feel like their personal housguests. It was quite a novelty to have choices for our meals after the safari camps and once again the food was splendid.

I particulalry enjoyed the abundant birdlife at Pumulani, including a pair of fish eagles and numerous pied kingfisher. Whils out on the lake we also came across a family of Cape clawless otters feeding which was very exciting - although I suspect Mark was even more thrilled than we were as this was the first time he had seen these otters in the lake.

We would thoroughly recommend staying at Pumulani at the end of your Zambian safari - it really is the perfect place to relax and get the dust out of your system before coming home."